During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Tell us about the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we want to hear about chance encounters that have stuck with you.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, anonymously if you choose. What you share are protected, and are intended for the aim of this article.
